Drugs found in UT stabbing victim

Substance said to be rare; no similar use reported on campus

A University of Toledo student who died in December during a stabbing on campus had a relatively rare synthetic hallucinogenic drug in his system, UT police said.

Chief Jeff Newton said a toxicology report for Josiah Galat, 20, of Mansfield showed he had designer drug 25i, similar to LSD, in his system. Mr. Galat, a senior at UT, died of stab wounds he suffered in a Dec. 19 altercation inside the Horton International House. Classmate Erik Littleton, 19, of Detroit was critically injured in the incident but survived.

The two apparently fought in the residence hall’s stairwell, leading to the stabbing.

Mr. Galat and Mr. Littleton, who chose to live together during UT’s winter break, had spent the day together, and, at one point, were joined by Alexander Vogel, 18, signed into the building by Mr. Littleton. When police reached the hall they found Mr. Vogel naked and agitated. He was taken to a hospital for medical treatment and then was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge.

Chief Newton said Mr. Vogel, a former student, did not witness the fight and “had absolutely no knowledge of what happened.” He would not comment on whether police believe Mr. Vogel or Mr. Littleton were under the influence of 25i during the incident.

University police have no other reports of 25i use on campus, and Chief Newton said the drug appears to be fairly new. Spokesmen for ProMedica, Mercy, and the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio, said there have been no known cases of patients brought into emergency rooms for overdoses of 25i. Promedica and Mercy officials said they hadn’t even heard of the drug.

Not yet regulated, 25i has been linked in other states to a handful of overdose deaths, according to media reports.

Chief Newton said he could not comment on where or from whom police believe the drug was purchased, and he would not give a timeline for the investigation’s conclusion. “We are hopeful that we are at a point where we can put a period on the end of it here soon,” he said.

Mr. Littleton has not been charged.

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